David Lidsky's Blog, page 4805

Tendril's IDEO-Designed Vision Display Keeps Track of Energy Use

Smart grids are great in theory, but they are virtually useless on the consumer side of things if homeowners don't have easy and comprehensible access to instant energy data. That's where Tendril's Vision display comes in. Tendril's device links directly to the grid to create a meaningful display of energy use and cost.

The 8-inch-by-6-inch display, designed by IDEO for the energy management startup, looks like the kind of thing that might come from Apple--not surprising since IDEO created...

Amazon Reveals Kindle iPad App, Dooms Its Own E-Reader?

Amazon's just revealed its iPad Kindle reader version. The app will be available on other tablet PCs too, but the iPad is the hottest kid on the block, and it'll likely sell by the ton. Knowing this, we wonder: Did Amazon just kill its Kindle E-reader?

Amazon's getting wise to Apple tech, at last, and it even released a Kindle reader app for Macs last week--conceding that its erstwhile arch-rival Apple's computers are now a serious player in the consumer PC space. But the big reveal of...

Browser Wars: Microsoft's E.U. Browser Ballot Saps IE's Marketshare

First, the European Union decided that Microsoft was unfairly monopolizing the browser market by bundling Internet Explorer in software packages. As a result E.U. users are now offered a ballot that allow them to select alternatives. And it's working: IE is losing chunks of marketshare.

About 200 million Windows users of all flavors, old and new, are being served up with Microsoft's ballot window (shown above), which is a roadblock-style pop-up forcing them to choose which browser they'd like...

Blu E-Cigarettes' New Definitely-for-Adults Flavors Include Cherry Crush, Vivid Vanilla

Blu, purveyors of e-cigarettes to non-Na'avi people, is teaming up with Johnson Creek to provide all its electronic cigarette e-liquids. Blu's alcopop-esque flavors of Cherry Crush, Vanilla, Magnificent Menthol, Java Jolt and Vivid Vanilla--oh, and let's not forget Classic tobacco for all you wannabe cowboys out there--are now to be manufactured in the U.S. Johnson Creek's own flavors, Original, and Red Oak, will be available for Blu from next month.

Although marketed as a device for quitting...

Infographic of the Day: The Path to 10 Billion Tweets

Can Twitter become essential before it becomes a fad?

In February, Twitter hit a whopping 10 billion tweets in a single month. To document that explosive rise--from a minuscule base just over a year ago--Mashable created this infographic. And actually, the biggest challenge facing the micro-blogging service is buried in the middle of the graph: The most-active 28% of users account for 76% of the traffic; the top 1% account for an astounding 35% of traffic.

If Twitter is merely a fad for that...

Browser Wars: Microsoft's EU Browser Ballot Saps IE's Marketshare

First, the European Union decided that Microsoft was unfairly monopolizing the browser market by bundling Internet Explorer in software packages. As a result EU users are now offered a ballot that allow them to select alternatives. And it's working: IE is losing chunks of marketshare.

About 200 million Windows users of all flavors, old and new, are being served up with Microsoft's ballot window (shown above), which is a roadblock-style pop-up forcing them to choose which browser they'd like...

MoMA Acquires "@" Symbol. "WTF" Next?

New York's Museum of Modern Art is adding the ubiquitous typographic icon to its permanent collection. Here's the story behind the acquisition.

Today, MoMA's announced what might be its boldest acquisition ever. And it didn't even cost anything: The "@" symbol is now a part of the museum's permanent design collection.

Which sounds more than a little mystifying. But MoMA's chief design curator, Paola Antonelli, offers a fairly detailed and fascinating rationale.

"@" is more ancient than...

Nestle Learns an Important Lesson in Social Media Management

Last week, Nestle got itself into a bit of a situation on its Facebook page. Following accusations by Greenpeace that the confectionery company was using palm oil sourced from deforested areas in Indonesia, the company's Facebook page was overrun by disgruntled campaigners urging a boycott of its products, and the firm was forced to put out a statement on its corporate website.

Nestle had, at first, been trying to firefight the situation on its Facebook page, without much success. Caustic

Google Versus China: China to Win, Chinese Netizens to Lose

The face-off between Google and China is entering its final phase: Rumors are building that Google may announce its pull out of the country as soon as today. Meanwhile, China's netizens are desperately trying to make their voice heard.

Google seems to be playing is cards extremely close to its chest on this matter--and today, like much of the recent news, we're only learning about things via persons "familiar with the situation" who've spoken to the Financial Times. These insiders are...

Surprise! Harsh Supermarket Lights Add Nutrients to Spinach

Think the spinach in supermarkets isn't as nutrient-packed as the stuff that comes straight out of the ground? Think again. The unpleasant fluorescent lighting found in grocery stores actually enhances the nutritional value of spinach, according to a study in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Chemistry.

The researchers involved in the study found that spinach in clear plastic containers kept at 30 degrees F and exposed to fluorescent lighting for 24 hours a day contained boosted...